Rest Assured: Pill Offers Help For Sleep Problems

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Many people who experience choronic sleepiness rely on coffee, caffeine pills and other remedies to stay awake, but an Oklahoma City physician said the answer for some people might be in the form of a tiny pill.

Dr. Jonathan Schwartz, the director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, said the prescription drug Provigil is quickly becoming recommended as a solution for sleep disorders.

Carolyn Schulz said she often fell asleep behind the wheel before she began taking Provigil. Schulz said she'd had trouble staying awake for years before she went to see Schwartz and learned of a relatively new drug that could help her with her problem, reported KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City.

"I kind of related it to being lazy, not wanting to get up and work ... that I wanted to sleep all the time," Schulz said.

Doctors eventually diagnosed Schulz with narcolepsy -- a disease that causes daytime sleepiness. Schwartz said Provigil is what helps Schulz and many others overcome narcolepsy and a host of other sleep disorders.

"This drug has helped us more than any other drug in improving daytime alertness," Schwartz said. "This medicine promotes wakefulness without having those other side effects such as feeling wired or jittery -- or the crash that often follows (with) other medications, such as amphetamines or ritalin."

Schwartz, who has studied the drug for several years, said that Provigil is only six years old but has already proved to be a useful tool in the promotion of healthy sleep behaviors. He said it is now being tested for depression and fatigue related to cancer and other illnesses.

Although some people use the medication to stay alert and productive during their work day, Schwartz warned that it is not a quick fix for those who suffer from a lack of sleep.

"No medication is replacement for sleep," he said.

Schulz agrees with her physician. She said she uses a breathing machine at night to help her rest.

But she added that she definitely notices a difference if she misses just one day's worth of pills.

"I've even gone to Texas to pick up my granddaughter, and I've made it all the way without falling asleep in the car," she said. "I don't think I could have done it without ... I know I couldn't have done it without the medication."

Schwartz said doctors who tested Provigil on drug addicts found that the risk for addiction is low. He said the drug does not give addicts a high and added that those who participated in a study said they wouldn't pay anything for the drug on the streets.

Provigil is available by presciption only.